Is Anything Unique about Christian Faith?

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 Aren't all religions essentially the same? They teach the golden rule or some form of ethical living and promise a better life after death. Persons who say this show an appalling ignorance of world religions, or they are just trying to please and pacify persons who want to argue religion. 

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 Some persons still bow before homemade idols praying for provision and protection. Ironically, the idols have to be repaired and taken in at night to prevent theft. Others worship nature, magic spirits and honor dead ancestors as Confucians and Shinto’s. Pantheist religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Christian Science, Unity and New Age call the energy of the universe god in its many changing forms. Three religions claim to worship one personal, ethical God: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Christianity claims fulfillment of Judaism and Islam through Muhammad the final prophet of both. Christianity, however, is unique in six crucial ways seen clearly in Jesus Christ.

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Jesus’ Claim to be God is Unique.

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First, only Jesus claimed to be our Creator God come from Heaven into our world in the form of a man, the God-man. What immediately sets Christianity apart from other world religions is that Jesus, unlike other founders, didn’t just give us a philosophy of life, or teaching about God and ethics. Jesus claimed to be God our Creator and gave actual visible proofs before living witnesses.

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Persons in other religions would think that impossible although they knew myths of gods visiting earth. Tyrannical Caesars declared themselves gods, forced their subjects to admit it, but everyone knew it wasn’t true. Of course, madmen sometimes claim to be God but do nothing beyond human power.

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Jesus Fulfilling Ancient Jewish Prophecies Is Unique.

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Second, Christians claim nobody but Jesus could fulfill these ancient predictions of the Jews’ Messiah. The coming Messiah was to be the God-man (Isa. 9:6-7), born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), of a virgin (Isa. 7:14), perform miracles (Isa. 35:5-6), die for the sins of the people (Isa. 53), rise from the dead (Ps. 16:10). Who but Jesus Christ fulfilled these ancient detailed predictions? No such predictions and fulfillments appear in other world religions. It is impossible that anyone but God could reveal such prophecies.

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Jesus Living a Perfect Sinless Life Is Unique.

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Third, only Jesus lived a perfect sinless life. Some persons are claimed to be exceptional persons who made outstanding contributions to the well-being of humanity—Muhammad, Confucius, Buddha. None, however, but Jesus are claimed to be sinless. Jesus spoke of uncleanness as evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, thefts, murders, covetousness, deceit. He dared to challenge His bitter enemies to find fault in Him, when they could not, their only recourse was to plot his death. His twelve disciples with him day and night for more than three years said Jesus knew no sin. Judas, desperate to relieve his guilty conscience, cried he had betrayed innocent blood. Pilate could find no fault in Jesus. The Jews only charge against Jesus was blasphemy because he claimed to be God. He could have denied that and been set free. While we sin many times a day, Jesus never sinned qualifying him to be our Lord and Savior.

Jesus' Objective, Visible Public Eyewitness Miracles Is Unique.

Fourth, Jesus performed miracles before human eyewitnesses. He performed them everywhere he went--at the temple, by the lakeside, in between towns, and at people’s houses. He performed miracles in the open before large crowds by spontaneous request and sometimes at a distance. His miracles were of all types—immediate healings of various diseases, control of nature such as turning water to wine, walking on the sea, casting out demons, and raising the dead. While the Gospels record only 35 miracles, Jesus must have performed hundreds since he performed them everywhere he went for more than three years to individuals and large crowds. Even his sinless life before many witnesses was a moral miracle.

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No religious founder claimed miracles and pantheist religions wouldn’t allow it. Yet documents dated hundreds of years after their death may claim miracles or rather myths. Such miracles were not part of their teaching and often contradicted by their teaching. If God came among us and wanted us to recognize that fact, what better way to get our attention than doing things unknown to nature and impossible for men? 

Jesus Dying in Place of Sinners Is Unique.

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Fifth, only Jesus gave his life to pay for our sin and provide Heaven. Claiming to be God, proving it by fulfilling prophecy, living without sin, performing miracles, Jesus did things no world religion founder did or even cared to do. Jesus out of love took the sinners place upon the cross bearing our sin and shame, taking the punishment we deserve for our transgressions against a moral and perfect God—that’s a love the world could not imagine before Jesus came. Ancient people only feared their gods never supposing a God could love them, even die that they could live eternally.

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Jesus Rising from the Dead Is Unique.

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Sixth, Jesus arose from the dead. This is our ultimate assurance that his teaching and claims to be God are true. He arose while man eyewitnesses still lived, wrote about it, and underwent ridicule, torture and death to verify it. Christianity can’t be myth. And every theory devised to explain it away falls to the ground. Nothing in any world religion has such objective empirical evidences like Christianity. The Christ of the Bible is unique—unlike all other religions, it gives humanity dignity, rights, purpose, truth, ethics, and eternal life. Yes, Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except trough him (John 14:6).

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Jesus Return to Judge Humanity Is Unique. .



Finally, Jesus will return to judge the good and evil deeds of humanity. He existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit from all eternity, a great mystery in itself. We would never invent a triune God above our limited human understanding and so difficult to believe. It’s revealed truth accepted by faith. God’s Son came from Heaven to become the man Jesus the Christ or Messiah. He lives a perfect life to qualify as Savior of sinners, claimed to be God in human flesh, fulfilled many ancient prophecies and performed many miracles to prove it, died upon the cross to pay for our sins, arose from the dead to assure us His teachings are true and He is our God.

This same Jesus will one day return as our Judge to eternally reward or punish our deeds. All this is clear Bible teaching. He alone is humanities hope and salvation. Is He yours?  Say, Lord Jesus Christ, I trust you now to save me a sinner and be with me and be my Guide throughout life. Thank you, Lord.

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